224

to use voices. Which indeed was also shown through the preceding things in: “The Lord himself will come to judgment with the elders of the people and with their rulers. But why have you set my vineyard on fire, and the plunder of the poor is in your houses?” Following these things, the word, taking up again, says: Thus says the Lord: On your account my name is continually blasphemed among the nations, or according to Symmachus: continually the whole day my name is blasphemed. But the phrase: "among the nations" is found neither in the Hebrew nor in the other translators. And through these things the prophecy signifies their blasphemies against Christ, which the rulers of the Jewish nation make always and continually every single day. But you, he says, are such, but another people for me gathered from the nations, about whom it was said in the preceding things: will know my name, which you blaspheme, “not knowing its power.” But my people will know my name, learning by experience itself how great a saving and divine power it possesses. And these things will be in that day; and in what day is this, but when I myself, he says, who now speaks these things through the prophets, shall make my own presence among men? And according to Symmachus it is said: my people will know my name for this reason in that day, that I myself am the one who speaks: behold, I am, as if it were said more clearly, when I myself, who now speak these things through the prophet, having shown myself to men, might say, I myself am the one who speaks; I am present. 2.41 The word, having prophesied his presence among men, of him who “long ago spoke through the prophets,” very consistently adds the evangelical proclamation that was spread to all the nations through his apostles, whose memory it makes through the preceding texts. And the divine Apostle, taking up the meaning of these things in his epistle to the Romans, translated it in this way: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good things, of those who preach peace.” But Symmachus translated the passage as follows: How comely upon the mountains are the feet of one bringing good tidings, making peace to be heard, bringing good tidings of good things, making salvation audible. Instead of salvation, the Hebrew word contains *yeshuah*, so that if the translators had kept the Hebrew word unchanged, nothing would have prevented them from saying: making Jesus audible. And according to Aquila: How beautiful, he says, upon the mountains have become the feet of those who preach good things, making salvation audible, and according to Theodotion: How comely upon the mountains are the feet of those who preach good things. In these things the prophetic spirit marvels at the feet of the preachers of the gospel, by which they have made their course, traversing the circuit to all the nations. And their feet were beautiful both because they had been cleansed, as if the Savior had “washed” them, and they ran upon the mountains on account of the lofty and high nature of the evangelical proclamation, and they announced peace to men, proclaiming the peace with God, and indeed this peace, which they proclaimed “to those far off and to those near,” signifying the Christ of God, who “made both one and broke down the middle wall of partition, the enmity, in his flesh.” Wherefore Paul, writing to the churches, wrote saying, “grace to you and peace.” And they also preached good things, the truly good things, announcing the beatitudes, which the Savior gave through the evangelical teaching. Indeed the proclamation said to Zion, that is, to the God-fearing commonwealth and to the apostolic choir: Your God will reign, wherefore they announced the kingdom of heaven to all men. And instead of: the voice of those who guard you was lifted up, Symmachus said: the voice of your watchmen has raised a voice, and added: together they will praise; for they will see eye to eye when the Lord returns Zion, again here also the God-fearing commonwealth being named Zion, and according to

224

χρήσασθαι φωναῖς. ὃ δὴ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἐδηλοῦτο ἐν τῷ· «αὐτὸς κύριος εἰς κρίσιν ἥξει μετὰ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτοῦ. ὑμεῖς δὲ τί ἐνεπυρίσατε τὸν ἀμπελῶνά μου, καὶ ἡ ἁρπαγὴ τοῦ πτωχοῦ ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις ὑμῶν»; τούτοις ἑξῆς ἐπαναλαβὼν ὁ λόγος φησί· τάδε λέγει κύριος ∆ι' ὑμᾶς διὰ παντὸς τὸ ὄνομά μου βλασφημεῖται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· διὰ παντὸς ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν τὸ ὄνομά μου βλασφημεῖται. τὸ δέ· ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν οὔτε ἐν τῷ Ἑβραϊκῷ οὔτε παρὰ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἑρμηνευταῖς φέρεται. σημαίνει δὲ διὰ τούτων ἡ προφητεία τὰς κατὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ βλασφημίας αὐτῶν, ἃς δι' ἡμέρας ἁπάσης ἀεὶ καὶ διὰ παντὸς ποιοῦνται οἱ ἄρχοντες τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους. Ἀλλ' ὑμεῖς μέν φησι τοιοῦτοι, ἕτερος δὲ συστὰς ἐμοὶ λαὸς ἐξ ἐθνῶν, περὶ οὗ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται· γνώσεται τὸ ὄνομά μου, ὅπερ ὑμεῖς βλασφημεῖτε «οὐκ εἰδότες αὐτοῦ τὴν δύναμιν». ὁ δὲ ἐμὸς λαὸς γνώσεταί μου τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῇ πείρᾳ μαθών, ὅσης μετέχει σωτηρίου καὶ θείας δυνάμεως. καὶ ταῦτα ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ· ποίᾳ δὲ ταύτῃ, ἀλλ' ὅταν ἐγώ φησιν αὐτὸς ὁ νῦν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ταῦτα φθεγγόμενος τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ποιήσωμαι παρουσίαν εἰς ἀνθρώπους; καὶ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον δὲ εἴρηται· γνώσεται ὁ λαός μου τὸ ὄνομά μου διὰ τοῦτο ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, ὅτι ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ὁ λαλῶν· ἰδού εἰμι, ὡσεὶ σαφέστερον ἔλεγεν, ὅταν ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ὁ νῦν διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λαλῶν ταῦτα ἐμαυτὸν ἀνθρώποις ἐπιδείξας εἴποιμι, ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι αὐτὸς ὁ λαλῶν· πάρειμι. 2.41 Θεσπίσας ὁ λόγος τὴν εἰς ἀνθρώπους παρουσίαν αὐτοῦ «πάλαι διὰ τῶν προφητῶν λαλοῦντος» σφόδρα ἀκολούθως ἐπισυνάπτει τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν κήρυγμα τὸ εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη διαδοθὲν διὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων αὐτοῦ, ὧν τὴν μνήμην διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ποιεῖται. τὴν δὲ τούτων διάνοιαν καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἀπόστολος ἐκλαβὼν ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἐπιστολῇ τοῦτον μετέφρασε τὸν τρόπον· «ὡς ὡραῖοι οἱ πόδες τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων ἀγαθά, τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων εἰρήνην». ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος τὰ κατὰ τοὺς τόπους οὕτως ἡρμήνευσε· τί εὐπρεπεῖς ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων πόδες εὐαγγελιζομένου, ἀκοὴν ποιοῦντος εἰρήνην, εὐαγγελιζομένου ἀγαθά, ἀκουστὴν ποιοῦντος σωτηρίαν. ἀντὶ τοῦ σωτηρίαν, ἰησουὰ ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ λέξις περιέχει, ὥστε εἰ ἦσαν ἀμετάβλητον φυλάξαντες οἱ ἑρμηνευταὶ τὴν Ἑβραϊκὴν φωνήν, οὐδὲν ἐκώλυεν αὐτοὺς εἰπεῖν· ἀκουτίζοντος τὸν Ἰησοῦν. κατὰ δὲ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· τί ὡραιώθησάν φησιν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη πόδες εὐαγγελιζομένων ἀγαθά, ἀκουτίζοντος σωτηρίαν, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Θεοδωτίονα· ὡς εὐπρεπεῖς ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη πόδες τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων ἀγαθά. ἐν τούτοις τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ προφητικὸν τῶν κηρύκων τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοὺς πόδας ἀποθαυμάζει, δι' ὧν πεποίηνται δρόμον ἐκπεριελθόντες τὴν εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη περίοδον. ὡραῖοί τε ἦσαν αὐτῶν οἱ πόδες καὶ διὰ τὸ κεκαθάρθαι ὡς ἂν τοῦ σωτῆρος αὐτοὺς «ἀπονίψαντος», ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ὀρέων ἔτρεχον διὰ τὸ μετέωρον καὶ ὑψηλὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελικοῦ κηρύγματος, εἰρήνην δὲ κατήγγελλον ἀνθρώποις εὐαγγελιζόμενοι τὴν πρὸς θεὸν εἰρήνην καὶ ταύτην γε τὴν εἰρήνην, ἣν «τοῖς μακρὰν καὶ τοῖς ἐγγὺς» εὐηγγελίζοντο, δηλοῦντες τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ «ποιήσας τὰ ἀμφότερα ἓν καὶ τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας, τὴν ἔχθραν, ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ αὐτοῦ». διὸ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἐπιστέλλων ὁ Παῦλος «χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη» λέγων ἔγραφε. καὶ ἀγαθὰ δὲ εὐηγγελίζοντο, τὰ ὄντως ἀγαθά, τοὺς μακαρισμοὺς καταγγέλλοντες, οὓς ὁ σωτὴρ ἐδίδου διὰ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς διδασκαλίας. ἔλεγε δὴ τὸ κήρυγμα τῇ Σιών, δηλαδὴ τῷ θεοσεβεῖ πολιτεύματι καὶ τῷ χορῷ τῷ ἀποστολικῷ· Βασιλεύσει σου ὁ θεός, διὸ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν ἅπασι κατήγγελον ἀνθρώποις. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· φωνὴ τῶν φυλασσόντων σε ὑψώθη, ὁ Σύμμαχος φωνὴ τῶν σκοπῶν σου ἐπῆρε φωνὴν εἴρηκε καὶ ἐπήγαγεν· ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ αἰνέσουσιν· ὀφθαλμοφανῶς γὰρ ὄψονται ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέψαι κύριον τὴν Σιών, πάλιν κἀνταῦθα τοῦ θεοσεβοῦς πολιτεύματος Σιὼν ὀνομαζομένου, κατὰ δὲ